Wanting A Home
by Credo-Spero-Fides
Summary: All Nymphadora Tonks wanted was to get away from this stupid orphanage. Was it wrong that she wanted a mum and dad like everyone else?  The longing is worse now since she's at Hogwarts surrounded by kids from happy families. Who would ever want her?
1. Entry form

**AN: Before you read this and tell me that it never happened/ never should happen/ it's stupid, I ALREADY KNOW! This story is a result of a random plot bunny that nosed its way up to the surface of MY OWN HEAD that I wanted to write for my OWN PLEASURE and felt the need to share it. Please don't bother reading it if you're going to flame, you will be shared with my friends and laughed at. Enjoy!**

**Hogsmeade Orphanage Form**

General Details

Number: 1392

Name: Nymphadora Andromeda Tonks

Age: 5 years old

Date of Birth: 10th May 1967

Previous Parents/Guardians: Andromeda Black [mother], Theodore Tonks [father]

Medical Issues: /

Medicine required: /

Other: Metamorphmagus

Orphanage Details

Date of Entry: 21st May 1982

Reason of Entry: Parents murdered in a Death Eater attack

Known Magical Relatives:

Bellatrix Lestrange [Maternal Aunt] – deemed inadequate guardian due to Death Eater status

Narcissa Malfoy [Maternal Aunt] – not permitted to gain guardianship in Parents' Will

Sirius Black [Maternal Second Cousin]- too young to take up guardianship

Regulus Black [Maternal Second Cousin]- too young to take up guardianship

Date of Departure:

Foster Placements

Foster Parents:

Date of Fostering:

Date of Return:

Adoption Details

Adoptive Parents:

Date of Adoption:

Financial Details:

Vaults: 672 (family vault-inherited when she is of age), 914 (trust vault-available from 11yrs)


	2. Nightmare and Letters

4.32am, 20th May 1978, Girls Dormitories, Hogsmeade Orphanage

Nymphadora Tonks woke up to the crying of Jill Cater. She was having a nightmare, again. Rubbing her eyes, Tonks (as she preferred to be called) swung her legs out of her bed and padded, barefoot, across the floor to the seven year olds bed.

"Jilly, Jilly," she whispered, shaking the curly haired child. "Wake up."

"Shut her up, Tonks," growled Margret Fletcher from the opposite row.

"Why don't you shut up!" snapped Tonks irritably, brushing red hair from her face.

"Make me, freak," retorted Margret, sitting up and glaring at Tonks.

"Tonksie?" whimpered Jill, opening her dark brown eyes which were filled with unshed tears.

Tonks sat on the edge of Jill's bed and held the smaller girl close to her, "I'm here, Jill. I was only a dream. See? Nothing scary here."

"'Cept Matron," muttered Victoria from the next bed.

Tonks and Jill both giggled weakly at that comment. Matron was certainly very scary; you would never want to cross her.

"You was gone," said Jill accusingly. "And never came back when I called!"

"Well, I'm here now, silly." Tonks assured her, squeezing her tightly.

"Not after today," said Jill, looking like she was about to cry again.

Tonks didn't know how to reply, it was technically true. Today Tonks was eleven years old and would be moving out of the dormitories and into smaller rooms, sharing with only four to seven other girls instead of nineteen.

"You're too big to be 'aving nightmares anyways," hissed Margret. "Or are you a little crybaby?"

"I am not a crybaby!" shouted Jill indignantly

"Shhh!" said Maisie. "D'you wants Matron to hear you?"

"Are too!" taunted Margret. "Only babies cry 'cause they had a _scary_dream. Suck it up already!"

"She's only little! Leave her alone!" protested Tonks

Margret snorted loudly, "So? She ain't special. Why should she get some attention just because she cries from a stupid dream?"

"You shut up, Margie Fletcher!" spat Tonks, leaping across the room and landing on Tonks' bed.

"Don't call me 'Margie', Freak!" replied Margret, shoving Tonks hard. Tonks fell off the bed with a loud thump that seemed to echo in the instant silence.

Heavy footsteps were heard coming from across the hall. The torches lit outside the dormitory. Matron had heard them!

"Bugger!" yelped Tonks and darted back to her bed, pulling the cover right over her head.

She and everyone else who was awake feigned sleep as the door was swung open. None of them wanted a spanking for being awake! The Matron prowled along the space between the two rows of beds, looking for anyone still awake. Finding no one she left, slamming the door behind her.

Tonks sighed in relief, her bum was still sore from the three strokes of the cane she got earlier for fighting with Margret. There was no way she wanted a session with Matron's hairbrush on top of that!

Sighing, Tonks curled up under her blanket and attempted to get back to sleep. She heard Jill sniffling but didn't want to risk going over and comforting her. Tonks closed her eyes and hoped she'd get a few hours sleep before it was time to start another 'new' day.

6.30am, 20th May 1978, Girl's Dormitories, Hogsmeade Orphanage

'Clang, clang' rang Matron's hand bell in their dorm.

Muttering, all twenty girls reluctantly got up groaning and yawning widely. Tonks was one of these girls. She squirmed out of her too-short nightdress, folding it neatly under her pillow and began putting on her orphanage uniform as she had done for the past six years.

Her uniform was hanging on a peg on the space of wall beside her bed. Personally, Tonks thought it was alright. For girls it was a white polo shirt, grey pinafore with a pleated skirt, knee high white socks and black shoes.

Soon enough all the girls were looking alike and were edging out of the dormitory, down the hall to one of the washrooms which the seven to eleven year olds shared with either the four to six year olds or eleven to seventeen year olds. Since it was still term time there were none there of Hogwarts age so Tonks' entire dorm made their way to the near empty washroom.

Even with fewer girls it was still chaos. There were twenty four girl orphans who were seven to ten years old. With only a long sink which held twenty at a time with five toilets and two baths taking up the rest of the space you honestly can't believe how much pushing and fighting there normally was. It wasn't helped by the fact that there were about the same number of boys on the other side of the wall making the same amount of noise. It was better now that it was term time but still chaotic enough.

It was amazing that any of them were dry when they paraded down the stairs to the dining hall but they were (even if they looked a bit more ruffled than they should at seven in the morning) and were soon settling down on the long benches.

For meals they ate with the boys so you normally saw siblings sit together. Tonks normally sat alone at the end of a table with little Jill and a few other younger children nearby. She didn't exactly get along well with kids her own age. Correction, they seemed to dislike her so she avoided them.

Bench by bench they were called up to the serving area, grabbing a bowl of whatever cereal it was today and a couple of slices of toast.

Since it was her birthday today Tonks got a boiled egg instead and was wished 'Happy Birthday' by Jolly Miss Jackson, one of the cooks.

She savoured her egg with one hand, the other one being held tightly by Jill's smaller hand. Jill seemed determined to stick to Tonks today. Tonks smiled sadly, she would miss Jill and Victoria and all the other little ones when she went to Hogwarts this September. She'd have to be sure to write plenty of letters!

Tonks liked to watch everyone while she was eating. When she was younger she loved to make up all sorts of stories of how everyone got here. How else should she have spent her time? Everyone had avoided her, she had to entertain herself somehow.

Her tales ranged from raging infernos with only one baby out of a family of ten surviving to heirs of a wealthy family being orphaned at the hands of gruesome murderers.

But now she knew everyone's names and most of their stories.

There was Jill whose father and stepmum simply didn't want her so they just left her here four months ago. Tonks had taken her under her wing because it was bad enough having no parents but actually knowing your parents didn't know you? That was worse!

Victoria had lived with her father until she was five, he had been killed along with his twin brother by several Death Eaters (AN: Guess who the twins are!). So, she had been here for two years now.

Gerald and Catherine, the five year old Geordie Twins, had been left here when they were two. No one knew who had dropped them off, whether it was their parent, relatives or a neighbour. Tonks loved those two trouble makers like she would a sibling perhaps.

Zoe Baker, one of her new roommates, would be going to Hogwarts. She was a half blood. Her mother was murdered for having a child with a muggle and rumour was that Zoe had nearly been killed too. Marcus was her half brother and was in his third year of Hogwarts.

The younger Matron came over to the bench Tonks was occupying, wearing a smile.

In Hogsmeade Orphanage there were two Matrons. The older one, who had checked on them last night, was tall, skinny with black and grey streaked hair, a line for a mouth and stern eyes. All the younger orphans were scared of her and she normally dealt with the teenagers (she was more responsible for them). She was kind enough but very strict, had a quick temper and a hard hand.

On the other hand, the younger one was, not fat, but certainly much softer than the older one with a smiley mouth, honey coloured hair and sparkly silver eyes. She always had a kind word for everyone – even Jimmy Irvine who was the bane of everybody – but didn't take any nonsense. She definitely knew how to wield a slipper to properly warm up a naughty little girl's backside as Tonks knew from experience.

"A letter arrived for you, Nymphadora," said Matron, handing her a scroll of parchment. "Remember that after school you will be moving into a room, Are all your belongings packed away?"

Tonks nodded in response, eager to read her letter away from the envious eyes of her fellow orphans. She was one of the few orphans not at Hogwarts age to receive letters. Margret was another one; she got the occasional letter from her dad- Mungdungus, who wasn't able to look after her. Rumour was that he was a petty thief.

She knew better than to open it at the table. Matron would probably give her a lecture on table manners. So she wolfed down her breakfast and waited impatiently for everyone else at her bench to finish.

7.30am, 20th May, Stairs of Hogsmeade Orphanage.

Tonks only had half an hour or so before they were all herded to the school in Hogsmeade and she still needed to sort out her school stuff! Grasping the scroll tightly she all but sprinted back to the dorm.


	3. Hope?

**AN: I stupidly forgot to put in the last chapter that there will be corporal punishment used in this story, as in canings and spankings. Sorry about that. Please don't complain about this because, as I have said before, it is my story and I can do whatever I want with it. Thank you to all my reviewers by the way!**

**Bold = Sirius, **Normal = James**, ****Underlined Bold = Marlene, **_italics = Lily _and underlined = Remus

7.32am, 20th May, Tonks' bed, Hogsmeade Orphanage

Unravelling the scroll Tonks noticed that her letter was from her grown up cousin Sirius Black, like it almost always was. Well, he wasn't _really_ grown up. Sirius was eighteen years old and was graduating from Hogwarts in a month's time but could act like a real kid sometimes, make that most of the time.

**Hey munchkin!**

**Happy Birthday to you! You're now the big one, one! Ready to go to the Big, Scary World of Hogwarts? **_Don't you dare scare her, Sirius Black! _**Come on Lily, I was only teasing. I haven't told her about the squid that eats one first year every year.**

Or the staircases which purposely drop ickle firsties! _Not you too James!_ Don't forget Peeves-he hates firsties. And the rest of the school...

_REMUS JOHN LUPIN YOU ARE MEANT TO BE THE MORE SENSIBLE MARAUDER!_

I honestly wasn't joking about the squid, Nymphadora. **I wasn't joking about the squid. **You so were, don't listen to him Nymphadora, he talks a lot of nonsense. **Oooh, you called her 'Nymphadora'! **She's so going to kick you, Moony. _That's not very lady-like. _**And?**

**What's going on? Why is Lily yelling on parchment when she can do it just as well in real life?**

**MARLENE!**

_Who just randomly write on a piece of parchment, not knowing what it is? _Marlene obviously.

**Oooh! Hi Nym! ****Call her 'Nymphie', it annoys her. **Idiot. **I AM NOT!**

_Y_**E**S Y_O_**U **AR_E_**!**!!

**I feel so loved**

**I hope you're in Gryffindor, it's the best house! **_Don't poison her against the other houses! _**Why not? **_It's wrong. For all we know she could be a Puff or a Claw or a Snake!_ No way is she a Slimy snake! _Her mum was one. _**You're dad was a Puff, Nymphie!**

We'll be happy for her wherever she goes. **Like siblings should! **Unless she's a Snake!

**Hey, can I get back to writing MY letter to her? Write your own! **_For once, he has a good point..._

**Hmpf, now Lily's off snogging James.**** Why would she want to know that? I know that I don't!**** Anyway, Happy Birthday Baby Sister (again). I've spoken with that scary Matron of yours and said that me and the Marauders can take you out for a few hours on Saturday! We'll have loads of fun but it's going to be a surprise! Can't wait to see you again!**

**Love, **

**Sirius**

Tonks' grin threatened to split her face in half as she finished her letter. She loved hearing from Sirius, being practically her only remaining blood family. She vaguely remembered him visiting her family when she was four. Now, he visited whenever he could which was mainly when he was at James' house or during Hogsmeade weekends.

"Come on weirdo. Are you trying to make us late?" Maisie, Margret's best friend, rudely interrupted.

Tonks didn't bother replying and slipped her letter into the top drawer of her chest of drawers, under her library book and sketch books. Every single letter she had ever received was put there. Most of them were from Sirius.

Sighing softly Tonks slipped off her bed. It was time to head to school. All the orphans from four to ten attended Hogsmeade with other wizarding children, mainly ones from Hogsmeade. The school was on the other side of the large village and all the orphans had to walk there no matter what the weather.

Grabbing her bag from the end of her bed Tonks walked past an annoyed Maisie and made her way to the front door. Everyone else had got their names ticked off Matron's large list and were waiting on her. The Old Matron was glaring at her.

"Glad you decided to join us, Nymphadora," she said sarcastically. A couple of boys hooted with cruel laughter.

Tonks refused to let the Old Bag ruin her mood and skipped out the door. The younger ones (four to six year olds) were led crocodile style by one of the Matrons and everyone else could walk by themselves if they wished.

Jill ran after her, ignoring her own friends in favour of walking with Tonks.

"I don't want ta go to school today," whined Jill, grabbing Tonks' hand. "Can't we skip and spend it together?"

"It's not worth it, Jilly," Tonks told her, looking left and right to make sure no carriages were going to knock them down as they crossed the road.

"I just don't want you to leave!" Jill informed her matter-of-factly.

"I'm not disappearing, silly. I'm just switching rooms. I'll see you all the time."

"Stop yer whingin' Jay," snapped Gerald.

"Yeah, neebody cares," finished Catherine.

Wait a second, how did the twins get here?

"Gerry, Cathy," began Tonks slowly. "Did you escape the line _again?_" All she got was twin 'innocent' nods in response.

"I'm not whinging!" snapped Jill. "Tonks will be eatin' at diff'rent times and won't be using the playroom!"

Gerry and Cathy looked at each other and the wailed, "Divvent gan! Wuh nee't yee!" their Geordie accents becoming more pronounced in their despair.

Why did Jill have to go and tell the truth again? Especially when the twins were very possessive of their 'big sister'. There were too many orphans (almost 200) for them all to eat at the same time. From the holidays onwards she would follow the routine of all Hogwarts age orphans. Since she would be with older children Tonks wouldn't be using the playroom during her free time. She'd be using the Living Area.

"I'll still read to yous and the others." Tonks assured them, she had enjoyed reading to the younger orphans ever since she was nine. It ensured that they weren't up to any mischief to the relief of the orphanage staff.

The little one's had taken to calling it 'Tonks' 'tory Time' which was sweet.

Finally the school came into view. It was a good forty minutes walk from the Orphanage. At least it wasn't raining.

Hogsmeade Primary was a warm, cheerful building with glowing red bricks and a honey brown entrance door. There was a big sign proudly proclaiming the building to be 'Hogsmeade Primary School for the training of the Next Generation of Young Witches and Wizards' just inside the gates. Around the back of the two storied building was a clump of trees perfect for playing in.

Pity the teachers weren't as nice as the building.

Tonks, Jill and the twins walked through the gates. Jill saw her group of friends and detached herself from Tonks, seemingly overcoming her clinginess. The twin slunk of somewhere to plan who knows what leaving Tonks alone. She walked over to the school building and leaned against the wall, watching everyone else playing.

All the orphans were more or less here. The line led by Matron had entered and they had all broken away from the uniform lines.

Screams of laughter filled the air as children played. There was a noticeable division between the orphans and the other children. No one wanted to play with kids who had no parents; they were weird freaks of nature. The orphans didn't try to play with anyone else for fear of being jealous. Obviously there were exceptions to this but that was mainly the younger ones.

Jill ran up to her, cheeks red from excitement. "Tonks, Tonks!" she called.

Tonks looked up questioningly.

"I heard from Torie who spied on Davy whose mum told Eddie's that someone's at the Three Broomsticks lookin' for the Orphange!"

Tonks smiled at the excited girl. Of course she had a right to be excited, there was still a chance that she could be adopted. It was the older ones like her that had little to no chance.

That's brilliant Jill," Tonks said, ruffling Jill's curls.

"I can't wait 'til we get back!" Jill squealed with a huge smile on her face and ran back to her friends.

Sighing softly Tonks continued looking across the playground.]"There's no point in getting hopeful," she scolded herself. "No one wants you. No one will ever want you as their daughter. Who would want an eleven year old when they could have a baby or a toddler?"

Try as she might Tonks couldn't stop the tiny bubble of hope from rising inside her.

Miss Harris, Tonks' teacher, stepped out the school, glared at her and blew sharply on the whistle that hung around her neck.

As one all the children got into lines according to year. There was a lot of shoving as everyone tried to find their lines in the chaos. Tonks reluctantly left the safety of her spot and stood behind Joshua.

They were led into the building, year by year, for another day of school.

**AN: I apologise if I have insulted anyone from Newcastle, England because of the Geordie Twins' speech. I didn't mean it to be insulting, I just wanted to show where each orphans are from and use the respective accent as not all English people speak the same way. I used an online translator, I didn't just make the words up. My accent probably sounds weirder because I'm from good ol' Norn Iron (Northern Ireland).**


	4. School Days

**AN: Personally, I am from Northern Ireland so I'm unsure how the school system works in Scotland (Hogsmeade is in Scotland). All information I got about the schooling system in is from the internet, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about anything**

**P7 in NI = P7 in Scotland = Year 6 in England = 5****th**** Grade in America (the children in Tonks' class are 10-11 year olds)**

8.50am, P7 Classroom, Hogsmeade Primary

"Andrew Smith?"

"Here, Miss"

"Melanie Tavish?"

"Here, Miss"

"Nymphadora Tonks?"

"Here, Miss" replied Tonks dully to Miss Harris, who was taking the roll call.

Oh, how Tonks wished she could quit school once she turned eleven. She really didn't like Hogsmeade Primary. None of the teachers liked the orphans very much. Well, that's a lie, the P1, P3 and P6 teachers were all nice enough.

"Take out your Latin Book, children, and translate these sentences." Miss Harris announced, waving her wand to make the chalk write up the sentences.

Everyone groaned and hunted out their Latin books from the tray under their desks. No one in their right mind would like doing Latin first thing.

Soon all fifteen boys and girls were bent over their notebooks. Friends were whispering furiously to each other, trying to get the translations correct. This way going to be a long day.

Tonks was the first done, having barely any friends freed up lots of time to study. After twiddling her thumbs for five minutes she took out her reading book and proceeded to get los =t in 'The Adventures of Harmony and her Hippogriff'.

"Nymphadora!" snapped Miss Harris, jostling Tonks out of her imaginary world.

Y-yes, Miss?" asked Tonks nervously, looking up at her despised and feared teacher.

"Is this lesson so boring that you can't be bothered doing it?" demanded Miss Harris making everyone else titter in amusement (obviously eager to be distracted from the lesson) and Tonks look down at her shoes in embarrassment.

She shook her head, "No, Miss. I'm finished."

"No, Miss. Yes, Miss," mocked her teacher cruelly. "Can't you say anything else?" she snatched up her notebook. "I'll be the judge of whether your finished or not."

Tonks followed Miss Harris to the teacher's desk. The nasty woman took her time going over Tonks' work, leaving Tonks to stand awkwardly at the front of the room. She hated being at the centre of attention with people pointing and whispering at her.

A good while later Miss Harris handed the book back to her. "You have some mistakes, Nymphadora." She proclaimed loudly so that even the back rows could hear her.

Tonks grabbed her book back with tears sparkling in her eyes, muttering a "Yes, Miss. Sorry," And returned to her seat in the front row. (Miss Harris had all the orphans in the front row to 'keep an eye on them').

After Latin it was break time, thankfully. Tonks took out her apple and sat under a tree in the back playground. Zoë Baker sat beside her with a banana n her hand.

"Hey," the slightly older girl greeted.

Tonks smiled shyly back. Zoë was one of the few children who talked nicely to her. They weren't exactly mates but the got on alright with each other.

There was no point in doing much during break; they were only out for about twenty minutes after all. It was barely enough time to play a decent came of chasies or anything.

"I can't wait 'til we get to Hogwarts," said Zoë, peeling her banana.

"No more orphanage or Matron," was Tonks' response.

"We'll be free!" giggled Zoë

"Only until the holidays," Tonks reminded her.

Zoë shrugged her plump shoulders, "I'm going to be staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, Chris says it's really good."

"Hmm," Tonks replied, a bit unsure. Would she end up staying at Hogwarts every holiday? Most orphans did but wouldn't it be really lonely if you didn't have any friends or family there with you? At least at the orphanage she knew everyone and this year she might be able to spend it with Sirius!

Gerry ran up them with tears in his eyes.

"What's the matter, Gerry," Tonks asking him, kneeling down on the gravel so she matched his height.

"Sam sez that ahm stupid an' I divvent belong where proper folk learn stuff." He wailed, snot trailing down his chin.

Tonks' eyes flashed dark brown as she mopped the little boy up with his hankie.

"Don't listen to him, Gerry. He's all hot air." She told him.

Cathy ran up to her twin, Tonks was surprised that she hadn't arrived earlier.

"Yee can come back, Gerry! I punched 'im hard in the stummick. He isn't gunna bother we no more!" she called. Tonks noticed that her little knuckles were red, was the other kid made of stone?

Gerry beamed at his twin and thanked her; he was feeling much better now that the wee boy got some of his own medicine. Tonks sighed softly. The twins were going to be punished when the got back to the orphanage, everyone like to tattle on orphans.

Just as she thought that Mr Marks, the P3 teacher, came striding purposely over. He nodded at Tonks with a slight smile; Mr Marks had always treated everyone fairly.

"Young, lady," he said addressing Cathy, whose face was firmly facing her feet. "Do I have reason to believe that you raised your hands to Samuel?" Cathy didn't answer. "Answer me young lady!" he demanded.

"Yes s-sir, I did but, but he was bein' mean!" she said, her voice becoming louder as she spoke.

Mr Marks' eyes narrowed and he informed her, "Do not raise your voice at me young lady."

Tonks winced. Cathy was sure in for it now, poor kid. Tonks wished she was still young enough to receive a simple hand spanking that lasted for barely a minute or two.

Mr Marks continued, "I am aware of that, Catherine, and I have dealt with the young man in question. Please come to the classroom, now!"

Cathy, realising what was going to happen to her little bum, pleaded, "Please sir, break's not over yet!"

"Unless you want my class to see your punishment I advise that you march!"

Cathy shook her head quickly and followed the man back to the school building with a look of pure dread on her face. Poor kid.

Gerry was about to run after his twin but Tonks held him back. He didn't need to get in trouble as well.

"Wot are ye do-yen, Tonks?" he protested loudly.

"Trying to save your butt from his ruler," Tonks responded.

Gerry looks at her wide eyed, his eyes darting between her and the doors of the school.

"Is she gon'a be okay?" he asks.

Tonks hugs the scared little boy. "Yeah, he'll probably just spank her with his hand. You and her are a bit young for the ruler."

He sighs hard in relief and sits next to her until the bell rings for class again. Gerry practically flies towards his classroom so he can check that his twin is still alive. At a more sedated pace, Tonks follows, not looking forward to the rest of the day at all.


End file.
